The 2022 FIFA World Cup features another round of matches this week as Switzerland locks horns with Tite’s formidable Brazil side in an important Group G clash at Stadium 974 on Monday. A brace from Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison – the second of which has already been earmarked for the tournament’s highlights reel – helped the Seleçao eventually break down Serbia’s stubborn resolve. Brazil’s first opponents, Serbia, were highly fancied to be one of the dark horses at this tournament, but a dominant performance from the Selecao made them look very ordinary.
Switzerland also won the first game of their World Cup campaign against Cameroon but will be up against a more formidable opponent this week. But they have to prepare better to face Brazil to get a good result.
The big news coming out of the Brazil camp in the aftermath of the Serbia game is that Neymar will miss the rest of the group stage after suffering an ankle ligament injury in the latter stages of the match. Right-back Danilo will also miss the rest of the World Cup 2022 group stage with a similar injury.
Renato Steffen was the only member of Switzerland’s squad that didn’t play any part in the win against Cameroon. The FC Lugano forward has been struggling with muscle tension in his upper body and is a doubt for the glitzy clash against Brazil.
A hugely talented and highly regarded left-sided forward, Vinícius oozes confidence, and perhaps unsurprisingly given his Brazilian roots and favoured position as a right-footed, left-sided attacker, flair, flamboyance and dribbling ability are key components to his game. He beats defenders regularly, doing so more often than not by pushing the ball past his opponent and quickly accelerating in the direction that he has moved the ball rather than through his manipulation of the ball and quick feet, like Neymar. The swiss need to be very well prepared to face him and need to make a plan to stop him.
First and foremost, he is a world-class shot-stopper. Not only that, he is one of the most agile ‘keepers in the game and is each superb with the ball at their feet. His consistent performance for his club and his national team has been amazing. He is an underrated goalkeeper who will play a crucial role to stop Brazil’s attack.
Matches: 9
Brazil: 3
Draw: 4
Switzerland: 2
Alisson; Militao, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Sandro; Fred, Casemiro; Raphinha, Paqueta, Vinicius; Richarlison.
Switzerland XI (4-2-3-1)
Sommer; Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler; Shaqiri, Sow, Vargas; Embolo.
With Neymar ruled out of the group stage due to injury, Brazil will need to tap into their commendable squad depth to top their group. The likes of Rodrygo and Gabriel Jesus are perfectly capable of filling Neymar’s boots and will look to make their mark this week.
Switzerland will be pragmatic and are likely to do a better job than Serbia did of playing defensively against all of Brazil’s talented attackers. But still Brazil will come on top of Swiss.